The increasing pervasiveness of “smart,” processor-controlled devices, ranging from mobile devices such as tablet PCs, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and laptop computers to televisions, set-top boxes (STBs), digital video recorders (DVRs), and stereos to home security systems, household appliances, utility metering and control systems, industrial controllers, vending machines, remote-controlled vehicles, and robots, together with the increasing ease and cost effectiveness of connecting such devices over a computer network, is contributing to a rising interest in leveraging capabilities of different devices to provide enhanced services and user experiences.
Dedicated, short range, wireless control of TV set-top boxes, home entertainment systems, garage door openers, and other devices using infrared or radio frequency transmitters and receivers is often supplemented by other mechanisms, such as Bluetooth, to provide higher bandwidth short range control and data transmission. Devices and systems such as utility meters, home controllers, digital still and video cameras, robots, medical systems, and industrial machine controllers may be enabled for monitoring and control via the Internet, using, for example, WiFi and 3G links. Such enablement is generally provided by including web server functionality in the device being controlled and web browser functionality in the remote controlling device. Remote control of vehicles, medical systems and devices, and remote presence systems often utilize proprietary as well as non-proprietary communications links. In the home entertainment arena, products are available to provide users with remote access to and control over audio-visual equipment (e.g., STBs, DVRs) via devices which utilize the equipment's external remote control interfaces and include the ability to stream captured video to other devices inside and outside the home.
The current arts have yet to provide effective means for leveraging the functionality of various devices to provide enhanced services and user experiences. Current systems are limited by controller devices which may become quickly outdated and are cumbersome to use. These systems are also limited by an inability to share content and functions between devices. In the TV and multimedia domain, content providers and programmers have difficulty delivering integrated, multi-screen experiences to consumers while also taking full advantage of the improving capabilities of these devices. Current arts also suffer from complicated device linking (a.k.a. “pairing”) procedures; insecure data transmission; difficulty supporting multiple device platforms; limited access to remote system functionality (e.g., emulation of local remote control only or access to a subset of such functions); need for dedicated hardware to be externally coupled to device or system being controlled; difficulty supporting target systems from different vendors; and difficulty producing a critical mass of reliable applications due to lack of robust, certified interfaces and middleware.